Ben Simmons clears another big hurdle as he eyes return to the NBA with Nets

After being examined earlier this month, Ben Simmons has been cleared to take the subsequent step in his return to play.

And presumably these subsequent steps are on a court docket.

“Ben has been cleared to progress to his next stage of his rehab and is progressing really well,” Simmons’ agent Bernie Lee instructed The New York Post on Wednesday.

“And we remain very excited about his ability to return to form next year.”

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Return to kind covers an enormous expanse between Simmons’ intermittent and ineffectual play for Brooklyn this previous season, and his spectacular degree when he made three consecutive All-Star video games for Philadelphia from 2019-21.

But the Nets have privately admitted getting Simmons again on the ground and on tempo for not less than a productive 2023-24 marketing campaign is arguably their most vital offseason job.

The 26-year-old’s return has been stop-and-start with seemingly infinite hurdles, however this news — alongside along with his current return to on-court exercises in Brooklyn and now Miami — means he’s cleared a number of vital ones.

Following Simmons’ microdiscectomy surgical procedure for a herniated L-4 disk May 5, 2022, a number of consultants instructed The Post that it may take 18 months for the nerves to totally get well — which means roughly a month into subsequent season — and that there was an opportunity he may require a follow-up surgical procedure.

MORE: The ‘complete change’ that has Simmons tipped to return to All-Star kind

After the Nets shut Simmons down for the season with a nerve impingement, that concern solely grew.

“He’s checking the boxes on meeting different markers along the way; so at this point he does not need surgery,” Nets GM Sean Marks mentioned final month. “That is the hope going forward, that he will not have to endure another surgery and we can keep progressing. The timeline for this is that he’ll be back 100 percent probably by Sept. 1. That would be the goal and he’s a full-go in training camp and ready to go.”

Simmons had already returned to figuring out at HSS Training Center, posting a number of early-morning footage on Instagram a few weeks in the past.

And Wednesday morning he shared an Instagram story from on the court docket on the University of Miami together with the caption “Day by day” and three face with steam emojis, representing him placing in work.

After holding out in Philadelphia (citing psychological well being points and his unhealthy again), Simmons received traded for former MVP James Harden in February 2022.

He missed the remainder of that season, and appeared in simply 42 video games this previous season.

After posting profession averages of 14.7 factors, 7.8 rebounds and seven.5 assists, he mustered averages of simply 6.9 factors, 6.3 boards and 6.1 assists this season for Brooklyn, all profession lows.

“The group around Ben has noticed a complete change in Ben’s focus and mentality [through] this rehab and how he has attacked it and engaged with everything,” a supply aware of the state of affairs instructed The Post.

Simmons, who had expressed curiosity in taking part in for Australia within the FIBA World Cup in late August and early September, was left off the Boomers’ preliminary 18-man roster final week.

“I’m currently rehabilitating my back injury and putting my full effort and focus towards that,” Simmons instructed the Daily Telegraph in Sydney.

That rehab is taking a big step ahead.

This article first appeared on The New York Postand was reproduced with permission.